BOEING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM TAKES FLIGHT

A new partnership with Boeing pairs undergraduate students with Thirteen Boeing Undergraduate Research Fellowships are now College of Engineering faculty and Boeing engineers to get hands-on underway during the program’s inaugural year. Here are project research experience in cutting-edge projects in aerospace engineering, descriptions and experiences of three of the research mentorships. cyber security, autonomous systems, machine learning and more. “The Boeing Undergraduate Research Fellowship has created New materials for tunable noise cancellation opportunities for undergrads to learn research by doing, work on high- Yoke Qi Ho, a junior in chemical engineering, is working with Jun Cui, impact projects, and get familiar with the intellectual property considerations associate professor of materials science and engineering and scientist of industry-backed research,” said Arun Somani, associate dean for at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory, on new engine research, Anson Marston Distinguished noise cancellation technology based on Professor in Engineering, and Philip and the special properties of shape memory Virginia Sproul Professor in Electrical and alloys. Computer Engineering. Right now, noise cancellation is

“What makes this program unique is designed for a fixed range of frequencies, that each undergrad researcher has two but new innovations could tune noise mentors. One is a Cyclone Engineering dampening to varying noise frequencies faculty member in whose lab the student in real time. Ho, under Cui’s mentorship, is works and gets experience. The second developing a shape memory mesh that’s is a mentor from Boeing who advises on able to change its porosity according to the project direction and the practicality the input electrical current, making its of the project for actual industry use,” said resistance to air flow tuned at aircraft Somani. “Boeing Undergraduate Research takeoff, cruising and landing. Fellows also benefit from Innovate at Iowa Yoke Qi Ho (left), a junior in chemical engineering and Jun Cui (right), “This was my first time I’ve been State’s programming on entrepreneurship, associate professor of materials science and engineering involved in research and this project IP management and ethics. Fellows also really helped me realize my passion for may get opportunities for summer industry internships.” engineering,” said Ho. “I’ve learned how to generate big new ideas to

“Experiential learning and building relationships are essential to an explore.” engineer’s development. This program is another great example where “The experiences I’m getting in the Boeing Undergraduate Research Iowa State students and Boeing engineers come together to jointly learn Fellowship took me beyond what’s in a textbook and put me in the right and research new technologies and approaches to some fascinating place to learn from Iowa State faculty and Boeing engineers,” said Ho. aerospace challenges,” said Ben Nimmergut (’01 mechanical engineering), vice president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes Engineering Functions.

“The engineering problem I’m tackling is a supply chain challenge that many companies struggle with, so I know I’m getting research experience that I will use in my future career,” said Kundan Paudyal, senior in industrial engineering. “Plus, I’m getting the perspective of Boeing mentors who are helping to guide my project and giving me a real-world look at how to be a successful industrial engineer in industry.”

Paudyal is working with Cameron MacKenzie, assistant professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering, to design an engineering system that will streamline supply chain processes by integrating supply chain design into the product design phase. Research shows that supply chain costs are substantial – carrying up to 80 percent of a product’s cost – so the benefits of integrating supply chain considerations into the product design process are Kundan Paudyal (right), senior in industrial significant. engineering and Cameron MacKenzie (left), assistant professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering “The Boeing Undergraduate Research Fellowship provides a unique research experience for undergraduates by supporting their research with an ISU engineering professor and connecting them to Boeing employees,” said MacKenzie. “The Boeing Fellows learn how to participate in academic research and how to communicate research findings to companies.”

Colton Glick, junior in software engineering, joined a 16-member undergraduate research team working on an open-source, 3D printed unmanned aerial system led by Kristin Y. Rozier, assistant professor of aerospace engineering. The goal is to create an accessible option for groups ranging from high schoolers to industrial researchers looking for an easily fixable platform to do research test flights.

“I am working on the electronics and software subteam and am assisting in the development of flight simulation, autonomous landing and obstacle avoidance for the UAS. We saw a lot of significant progress over the fall semester and completed two successful test flights,” said Glick.

“Class projects aren’t nearly as longterm or complex as Rozier’s project, and Colton Glick (right), junior in software engineering and Kristin Y. Rozier (left), assistant professor of aerospace engineering I have learned so much through working with others on the team who are knowledgeable in many different areas. Having Boeing attached to my research gives it an extra sense of authenticity and importance,” added Glick.

“I’m particularly grateful to Boeing for having the foresight to support undergraduate research,” said Rozier. “It adds tremendously to the undergraduate learning experience and aids in decisions about whether to attend graduate school and for what degree.” 7